...highlight, in detail, my understanding of the concepts and theories of leadership and followership that I have learned over the past seven weeks. I will discuss what my former opinions were and what my ideas have transformed into after researching and explaining what makes a good leader and follower. Philosophy will also be discussed in detail and what I believe the actions one must take to achieve their goals. In this paper, I will also be discussing what my strengths are as a follower and a leader and where I still need to develop in both areas. Definitions of Leadership and Followership There are many ways to define what leadership and followership are. In Eddy and VanDerLinden’s (2006), they explain that...
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...Determining My Perfect Position If my company is expanding and I was provided the opportunity to choose the position that best suits me it would be crucial to understand what type of leader I am. Doing so would allow me to determine what role I should take that I would be most successful in and would beneficial to the company. Leadership is defined in terms of behaviors, traits, influence, interaction patterns, role relationships, and occupation of an administrative position (Yuki, 2006). To best predict the type of leader I am it would be most beneficial to compare my assessment results to a transactional and transformational type of leader. Once this is done it will be easier to determine which type of leader aligns with my style of leadership. Transformational and Transactional leader Transformational Leader The theories of both a transformational and transactional leadership were both influenced strongly by the ideas of James McGregor Burns, who wrote a highly popular book on political leadership (Yuki, 2006). Although Bass performed more empirical research with Burns ideas of how leaders appeal to followers (Yuki, 2006). Followers of a transformational leader have trust, loyalty, admiration, and respect for his or her leader. Motivating the followers to do more than they are expected to do (Sahaya, 2012). According to Bass, the leader transforms and motivates the follower by doing three important things: 1. Inducing them to transcend their own self-interest...
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...Leaders strive for the best in their organization and work hard to become successful. My leadership philosophy may be different from others, however, it may be effective as others. Leadership can be learned and practiced. I consider if you practice with ethics in mind then there will be no issues with your followers or organization. Leaders that practice unethically are often viewed in a negative perspective and often ruin their careers. Great leaders are hard workers and assist in improving the organization. Some are natural leaders, however, it has been stated leaders are made. My view of leadership consists of different types of leadership styles. It has been disclosed that leaders who possess the charismatic personality have the most effect...
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...human resource management, team building/team solving, diversity change management, ethics, leadership development in follower, managing quality in workplace and leadership and spirituality. LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY My basic philosophy on leadership is very simple and straightforward. A person is deemed to possess good leadership when he or she is able to get things done fast with minimal fuss. As such these are the kind of leaders who will be well respected by their followers. In leadership, there are some key qualities that every good leader should possess, and learn to emphasize in order to lead efficiently and be respected by all. The Leadership Self-Assessments (LSA) journals that is incorporated in part of this module has made realized what kind of leader I am and what are the areas that I can work and improve on in my leadership skill development in my bid to become a better leader in future. In this paper, I will include the various results of the LSA journals to support my current behavior, abilities, and actions that define me as a leader. The top five key qualities of leadership that I consider essential are honesty, the ability to delegate, communication, confidence and the ability to inspire. Leaders must first and foremost be honest to their followers. By being honest and open to your followers, only then the decision made by the leaders will not be...
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...Am I a leader or a follower? That is the question. A leader must be a well rooted individual full of values and who will have the ability to respect the talents of others and are able to accept contribution from other human beings. A leader cannot be intimidating or manipulating. A leader must look within them-selves and find a way to influence other. A leader must be able and willing to change. A leader must look at leadership as a responsibly, and must be able to encourage, and uplifts those who are on their team. A leader must also recognize other peoples success as being theirs as well. And being able to actually lead has to be the first and far most important quality of a leader. Being able to lead simply means being able to take a vision or mission and execute it through actions and demonstrations. So again the question is, am I naturally a leader or a follower? And what can I do to make myself more comfortable or more effective as a leader? Well in my personal own opinion, I am both. I can be a leader when it necessary and a follower when it necessary. It depends on the situation. I have self confidence, charisma and great interpersonal skills that can sometime influence and motivate other people to participate in different things that will benefit them. I can recognize and create an environment in which all those who are involved in creativity, their talents can be display. That will encourage those whom I am leading. As a follower, I posses the same skills...
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...In the past seven weeks I changed my view on leadership. I learned about various factors of leadership that I never considered before. This paper is a summary of my leadership style based on the assessment scores and interpretation of it. It will explain my strengths and weaknesses, address the gaps, and suggest action items on how to close these gaps. This paper will also provide a timeline, implementation methods, and how the plan will be assessed. Leadership Style My score for the Leadership Style assessment is an eight for people oriented and a nine for concern for tasks. This score shows a balanced task/people orientation (Pearson, 2007). According to Newson (2006), it falls into the role category of Implementer. An implementer takes followers’ suggestions and ideas and turns them in positive action. They are known to be efficient, self-disciplined, and reliable. Implementers are motivated by their loyalty to the organization and often take on projects that everyone else avoids. The almost even score for task/people orientation also shows a situational leadership style. According to Wren (1995) “it describes a way of adapting leadership behaviors to features of situation and the followers” (p.210). Situational leadership style suggests that leaders adjust their style to fit individual situations. “It adapts to the capabilities and needs of the worker, which may change under various conditions” (Kelchner, 2008, para. 1). A situational leader must use the type of leadership...
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...Leadership Philosophy of Lacey Folmar 11/05/2015 Lao Tzu once said, “I have three precious things which I hold fast and prize. The first is gentleness; the second is frugality; the third is humility, which keeps me from putting myself before others. Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.” (Tzu, 2015, Lao Tzu Quotes, Retrieved from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/140095-i-have-three-precious-things-which-i-hold-fast-and) Reflecting on my leadership quote, my definition of a leader is one who knows how to put others before themselves. The following ideas are essential to my definition. Leaders must be gentle, be frugal, and be humble. These qualities can integrate into boldness, liberality, and reflection of others. Gentleness. Without gentleness a leader is reckless of the follower’s emotions. In order for the leader to implement positive change, the leader must be able to understand people’s need and desires. According to Meghan M. Biro, a writer for Forbes, “Great leaders understand empathy, and have the ability to read people’s (sometimes unconscious, often unstated) needs and desires. This allows them to speak to these needs and,...
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...When choosing the appropriate leadership style a leader needs to focus on the readiness level of its followers. The readiness level of followers depends on the degree of education and skills, experience, self-confidence, and work attitude. I scored 1 point in my readiness level, which indicates “low” readiness. The appropriate leadership style for my readiness level would be the directing style. Directing style means a high concern for tasks and a low concern for people and relationships. A directing style leader will establish clear goals and objectives for his or her work and also for his or her followers. I do think this is the appropriate style because followers, who have no clue about the job, self-confidence, or skills, need to be guided by the leader. The leader needs to provide guidance and instructions. Once the followers demonstrate they are self-confident, the leader can change from directing style to coaching style. My first couple of weeks in my former job, my supervisor used directing style as well. As time passed I obtained self-confidence and skills in my job, as a result my supervisor stopped giving me instructions because she knew I was ready for the job. That’s why I don’t agree with my result from the self-assessment test. Locus of control means if the person believes that they have control, or if it was out of their control. People with internal locus of control are more likely to succeed in school and cope with pain because they feel like they have control...
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...me that my leadership abilities mimic a High LPC, leader. “High LPC leaders are most effective when situational variables are neither extremely favorable nor unfavorable” (Hackman, 2009, p.80). I have also learned that the best way to understand someone else is to imagine myself as them (Hackman, 2009, p.78). How has your self-understanding increased? It has also made me realize how crucial it is to acknowledge the imperfections of some of my followers, which is equally as important to acknowledge the perfections of my most desirable followers in the workplace. It is my understanding that I am more relationship oriented, thus making me less focused on the task. My environment needs to be restructured where my position power is strong, tasks are structured, and relationships between me and my followers are good. According to Hackman (2009), “the most favorable conditions exist when the relationship between the leader and followers is good, the task is highly structured task, and the leader’s position power is strong" (p.80). What does this assessment reveal about your potential strengths and weaknesses as a leader (or follower)? Strengths: I work best when the conditions are favorable. My favorable conditions include pleasant, friendly, supportive, open, considerate, agreeable, and kind followers. This exercise has also proven to me that I am very concerned with relationships and building trusting ones. Weaknesses: I do not work well in unfavorable conditions such as;...
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...It was a normal school day; I was late, hungry and really did not care to be sitting in a classroom “learning”. The teacher was extremely unorganized and never seemed to be able to start class on time. As I laid my hung-over head down on my desk hoping that nobody disturbed me, the teacher clapped her hands with excitement and made an awful announcement. “Today we will be doing a group project.” I lifted my head, rolled my eyes and looked around the room for the right people to be in my group. That particular day I needed people that were going to be able to do the work without me. I needed people that were intelligent, motivated, understanding and wanted to do well on this project. Most importantly, I needed people that hadn’t made the bad the decisions that I had the night before. Honestly, I was looking for not just one leader, but a group of leaders. Did this make me less of leader? I do not believe so; I believe it proved me a good leader. I knew I didn’t have the skills necessary at the time to complete the tasks given to me. What does that mean a leader is? What qualities define a good leader? Do leaders arise in different situations? Are you born a leader or taught to be a leader? Once you’ve been a leader are you always a leader? Never, have I thought this much about leadership! After many questions and lots of thought, I’m still not sure that I have a stagnant definition of leadership but this paper is my attempt to analyze and define the term leadership...
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...create the separation between leaders and followers. It also specifies that the capability of a leader depends mostly on specific traits that may not be common to the followers (Laureate Education, 2010). “Leadership is the ability to articulate a vision and gain support for it” (Plachy, 2009). The core traits identified for successful leadership skills as highlighted in the Leadership Traits Questionnaire appear to take into cognizance so many characteristics associated with the theory. Trait Approach: emphasizes attributes like personality, motive, values, and skills. Leaders’ effectiveness is measured by the amount of influence a leader has on individual and group performances, follower satisfaction and overall effectiveness (Derue N, et al., 2011). My personal experience with the LTQ was that I became self-conscious at first with my response to each item. It could have been an interesting process if other people completed the assessment too, thus providing verifiable sources for comparison with my ratings. However I felt much better knowing that the instrument was meant to provide a synopsis of my strength and weaknesses. I have always seen myself having leadership qualities and that I possess most of the characteristics listed in trait theory. Northouse (2013) proposed the following trait theory characteristics including Intelligence, Self-Confidence, Determination, Integrity, and Sociability. I feel very confident and comfortable to say that I am not in doubt of having these...
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...practice what you have learned; the less likely you will be to successfully transfer these skills into real-world applications. As you fill out the form, take time to reflect now on the information and questions provided in this document. At minimum, identify four things you will do within the next 10 days to reinforce or apply what you’ve learned. Consider your development needs in relation to your organization, cause, or movement’s needs, or another situation you are currently in. Relating them to real-world learning will ensure that the skills get practiced now. As you progress through the next terms of classes you should use this as a guide for developing strategies so that you will continue your journey in becoming an effective leader. Personal Leadership Plan | Name: Lauren Hajek Date: 12/4/15 Development Area | Specific Action(s) | Target Dates | Resources for Support | What skills do you want to develop, i.e. leading team, communicating effectively, developing your vision? | What will you do to develop this skill, i.e. schedule regular meetings with your team, ask for feedback on your communication style, draft your vision statement? | By when will you start this action? | What help or support do you need to take this action, i.e. read...
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...recognize exemplary and incapable followers. One of the traits is that followers focus on objectives within a large framework and decide on the role to perform at a specific time to expedite the accomplishment of organizational goals. An adherents' demonstration of commitment and duty to the organization beyond the individual level, separates them from ineffective followers. Additionally, compelling followers exhibits a desire to attain greater degrees of competency and regulate their endeavors to this that results in positive recognition from leaders. Another distinction between effective and ineffective followers is that the latter exhibit courage, honesty, enthusiasm, intelligence, and self-reliance. This is dissimilar to ineffective followers who withhold information, whereas effective followers contribute and share opinions, which is an advantage to the organization especially if certain issues are not covered. Overall, exemplary followers share all of the qualities of effective and successful leaders. Kelly’s concept of servant followership is regarded as an important contribution to organization behavior literature. This is due to his theory that “servant followership is more important than leadership” because the majority of people spend most of their time in subordinate roles rather than leadership positions. Kelly utilizers the term ‘exemplary’ to describe the ideal servant follower and according to him, there are two dimensions to describe followers who score high within an...
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...Leadership Theories By Steve Wolinski on April 21, 2010 191 63 118 There is a wide and ever growing variety of theories to explain the concept and practice of leadership. I will provide a brief overview of the more dominant or better known theories. I hope that others will share their thoughts on whether this list neglects any theories of note. In the future we can discuss some of the emerging leadership theories/approaches such as adaptive, authentic, and appreciative. It is important to note that this submission attempts to provide an overview of leadership theories versus models. I view models as attempts to functionalize the more theoretical aspects of leadership and make them easier to put into play by organizations and consultants. This is, in and of itself, an important activity. Most theories view leadership as grounded in one or more of the following three perspectives: leadership as a process or relationship, leadership as a combination of traits or personality characteristics, or leadership as certain behaviors or, as they are more commonly referred to, leadership skills. In virtually all of the more dominant theories there exist the notions that, at least to some degree, leadership is a process that involves influence with a group of people toward the realization of goals. I will say on the front end that, in my opinion, leadership is a dynamic and complex process, and that much of what is written these days tends to over-simplify this process. My goal...
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...reflective approaches to learning and development into a practical methodical leadership plan (UOPX LDR 711A Course Materials). This has been an insightful semester that serves as a great foundation and launching pad in preparation for the first residency and also for this three-five year journey. The course is near its end and the doctoral students are charged with reflecting and developing their reflective leadership plans. This plan will explain my leadership style, strengths, and weaknesses and ways that I will work to capitalize on my strengths and modify my weaknesses. I will address gaps between the leader I am now and the leader I would like to become. I will include a plan that I can realistically implement to close gaps between the two. Finally, I will share a realistic implementation timeline for each action item on my plan and discuss how I will use the plan to impact my current leadership, my staff, and the entire organization. In an effort to stay on track, I will submit ways to evaluate and modify this plan if needed. Leadership Style Based on the assessment titled, “What is My Leadership Style”, the scores indicate that my leadership...
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